Genecast Partners with Hisense Health, Taikang Online, and Anhua Agricultural Insurance to Build a Comprehensive Cancer Early Screening Ecosystem
Recently,Herui Gene, Hisky Medical, Taikang Online Insurance, and Anhua Agricultural InsuranceMultiple collaborations have been established to leverage respective strengths in technology and services, with a focus on promoting the widespread application of early liver cancer screening and maximizing benefits for high-risk populations prone to tumors. The goal is to build an accessible, shared, and sustainable ecosystem for early tumor screening, supporting China’s efforts in early diagnosis, early treatment, and early recovery of cancers, thereby advancing national health for all.
The Primary Goal of Building an Ecosystem for Early Cancer ScreeningIt aims to establish a market-oriented, multi-dimensional ecosystem centered on early cancer screening, facilitating the commercialization and widespread adoption of early and ultra-early cancer detection through advanced technologies and services. This initiative seeks to enhance awareness among the general market and high-risk populations regarding early cancer screening, while providing comprehensive coverage. By fostering the synergistic development of diverse technical approaches and testing methods, it increases screening opportunities for high-risk groups during the early and ultra-early stages, enabling early diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, it offers financial claims support and protection to cancer patients, alleviating the economic burden associated with subsequent diagnosis and therapy. This ensures that high-risk populations achieve dual clinical and economic benefits throughout the early screening process, thereby further unlocking the market potential of early cancer screening and contributing to national health.
Zhou Jun, CEO of Genetron HealthIt was stated that Basiceon Bio, with its liver cancer early screening product Laisining as the core and aiming to expand the scope and depth of screening for high-risk populations with a high incidence of liver cancer, has initiated strategic collaborations to build an early cancer screening ecosystem. In the future, leveraging its advantages in liver cancer early screening products and tumor genetic testing technologies, Basiceon Bio will incorporate additional cancer types, such as lung cancer, into this early screening ecosystem. The company will also collaborate synergistically with a broader range of distinguished partners, including tumor imaging companies, insurance providers, contract research organizations (CROs), pharmaceutical manufacturers, and clinical institutions. Building upon the early cancer screening ecosystem, Basiceon Bio aims to explore multi-dimensional cooperation models, ensure the practical implementation of outcomes, and deliver greater value to high-risk populations prone to cancer and to clinical practice.
China has a high burden of liver disease. Due to limited awareness and economic constraints, most patients with liver cancer are diagnosed at intermediate or advanced stages, missing the optimal window for treatment; consequently, the 5-year survival rate is only approximately 20%. However, if it were possible toEarly and ultra-early detection, followed by intervention, can increase the 5-year survival rate to over 70%.
Shao Jinhua, CEO of HiskyIt was stated that China bears a heavy burden of liver disease, and liver cancer has become a significant public health issue in the country. However, individuals at high risk for liver cancer often pay insufficient attention to early screening. Furthermore, traditional detection methods exhibit low sensitivity and specificity for identifying early-stage and very early-stage liver cancer, making effective screening difficult. As a result, most patients miss the opportunity for early intervention and treatment; by the time of diagnosis, the disease has typically progressed to intermediate or advanced stages, leading to poor curability and low five-year survival rates. The strategic partnership between Hisky Medical and Ruiyi Gene, which combines genetic testing with transient elastography, holds significant strategic importance. This collaboration aims to promote screening and intervention for high-risk populations at various stages, including early and very early liver cancer, thereby enabling early diagnosis and treatment, and fostering a multi-stakeholder, win-win ecosystem for early cancer screening.
On March 18, National Liver Health Day, Huirui Gene and Hiscar launched their strategic partnership with the inaugural event of a joint online academic science popularization campaign titled “Uniting Forces to Safeguard Our Livers.” Experts, including Professor Chen Guofeng from the Fifth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital and Professor Wang Zhiyi from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, provided professional insights on hepatocellular carcinoma risk factors and screening technologies. The event attracted over 20,000 online viewers. Moving forward, both parties will deepen their collaboration to create greater value for patients and clinical practice.
According to the latest data released by CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians on February 4, 2021, cancer has become the leading cause of death among the Chinese population in 2020. Notably, China ranks first globally in the number of primary liver cancer cases. Early intervention, including early detection and treatment, can significantly improve the five-year survival rate. The “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline advocates adhering to the principle of prioritizing prevention and combining prevention with treatment to achieve health for all. To transform the current landscape of tumor diagnosis and treatment and promote early diagnosis and early treatment for cancer patients,Cancer Early Screening Linked InsuranceIt is essential to provide risk protection solutions for patients identified with liver cancer through screening, thereby alleviating the financial burden of subsequent diagnosis and treatment. This approach enables high-risk populations in high-incidence areas to achieve both clinical and economic benefits during early screening.
Liu Xue, Taikang OnlineIt was stated that cancer diagnosis and treatment have entered an era of chronic disease management, and strengthening early detection and early treatment is a crucial measure for cancer prevention and control. In the field of oncology treatment, China has included many anti-cancer drugs in the coverage for critical illnesses, significantly alleviating the financial burden on patients and their families. It is believed that there will be greater investment in cancer screening in the future. The current collaboration with He Rui Gene on patient protection services for early liver cancer screening represents an in-depth exploration by both parties in the realms of insurance and early tumor screening services, achieving a win-win outcome for medical service providers, patients, and insurers.
Huang Hongwei, General Manager of Anhua Agricultural Insurance Beijing BranchIt was stated that during this year’s Two Sessions, several committee members submitted proposals calling for enhanced early cancer screening. Indeed, disease detection is not only critical but also vital to patients’ financial security. The collaboration with Huirui Genomics represents Anhua Agricultural Insurance’s new exploration in addressing patient needs. This partnership can effectively provide financial protection for cancer patients, reducing the risk of poverty caused or exacerbated by cancer. We will continue to explore better healthcare-related insurance products and look forward to further cooperation with Huirui Genomics.
In 2020, Huirui Gene unveiled a roadmap for early screening and diagnosis of multiple tumor types.: Within three to five years, Huirui Gene will deliver research findings on early screening and diagnosis for 5–8 types of high-risk, high-incidence cancers in China, and achieve their industrial commercialization. The clinical-grade liver cancer product Laisining, based on the HIFI technology from the “National Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of 10,000 Individuals for Ultra-Early Warning Biomarkers of Liver Cancer” (PreCar), was launched in August 2020 for liver cancer screening in high-risk populations. It can provide early warning of liver cancer 6–12 months earlier than traditional methods. Related achievements of the HIFI technology have been published in the internationally renowned journal Cell Research (IF=20.5), gaining international authoritative recognition.
In the future, by collaborating with multiple stakeholders to build an ecosystem for early cancer screening, Huirui Gene will explore and establish new models of cooperation. This initiative aims to enhance awareness of early screening among high-risk populations for prevalent cancers, encourage proactive and intensive interventions at early or very early stages, and ultimately improve the five-year survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients, thereby contributing to the advancement of national health management.
Herui Genomics is a genetic testing company dedicated to comprehensive cancer care across the entire disease course. It has established a complete product and service system for genetic testing tailored to high-risk populations and cancer patients, encompassing cancer genetic susceptibility analysis, early screening, targeted and immunotherapy companion diagnostics, treatment response monitoring, and prognostic assessment. In the field of early cancer screening and diagnosis, the company has initiated a series of clinical research projects for the early detection and diagnosis of liver cancer, lung cancer, and other high-incidence, high-risk cancers prevalent in China. Its clinical-grade early screening product for liver cancer, Lai Si Ning, was launched in August 2020.
Since its establishment in 2010, Hisky Medical has rapidly evolved into a technology-driven healthcare enterprise integrating research and development, manufacturing, and sales. Its core brand, iLivTouch, leverages advancements in transient elastography technology to enable rapid detection of early-stage liver stiffness and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) values. It provides accurate, effective, and objective quantitative assessments of liver fibrosis and steatosis. The product has currently received certifications from authoritative regulatory bodies both domestically and internationally, including China’s NMPA, the U.S. FDA, and the EU CE mark.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Taikang Insurance Group, a Fortune Global 500 company, it was established in 2015. Adopting “Insurance + Technology” and “Insurance + Services” as its core business models, the company focuses on innovative development in internet insurance. Upholding the philosophy of making insurance more secure and convenient, it is committed to developing insurance products that are deeply integrated with the medical and health ecosystem and fully aligned with the digital ecosystem.
Anhua Agricultural Insurance is a nationwide agricultural insurance company approved for establishment by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), operating with comprehensive business scope and specialized management. Since its inception, the company has been committed to exploring new pathways for the development of agricultural insurance under evolving circumstances. While vigorously expanding its agricultural insurance offerings, its business portfolio also includes commercial property insurance and group personal accident insurance, thereby establishing a complementary urban-rural business model that concurrently advances both agricultural and commercial insurance sectors. Its annual gross written premiums exceed RMB 4.4 billion.